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Minitrue: Manage Opinion on Abductee Turned Teacherhttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-manage-public-opinion-on-abductee-turned-model-teacher/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-manage-public-opinion-on-abductee-turned-model-teacher/#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 01:54:53 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=185706The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Regarding the old story “Gao Yanmin: From Kidnapped Girl to Most Beautiful Rural Teacher,” all websites must pay close attention to and manage public opinion. Resolutely delete any malicious remarks attacking the government or the social system. (July 30, 2015) [Chinese]

In 1994, Gao Yanmin, an 18-year-old woman from Henan, was kidnapped in Shijiazhuang, Hebei after being lured to a train station there under the false pretense of employment. She was sold three times in four days before being forcibly settled with a husband in rural Hebei, where she was subject to intense physical and sexual abuse. After a series of thwarted escape and suicide attempts, Gao resigned herself to her fate. Being the only village resident to have finished middle school, she became a teacher and devoted herself to her students. In 2006 local media dubbed her “the most beautiful rural teacher” (最美乡村教师) in an article on her tragic story, and she was later given a provincial award. Her story reverberated nationally, inciting public outrage over official inaction on human trafficking. In 2009 her story was turned into the motion picture “Story of an Abducted Woman” (《嫁给大山的女人》).

Gao’s story has been noticed and posted online again by an Internet user this week then soon spread like a virus on most Chinese news outlets and popular social networks like Sina Weibo and WeChat.

Netizens questioned the narrative that minimized the problem of human trafficking and abduction while focusing instead on Gao’s resignation to her fate. They felt that the people responsible for her plight were not held accountable, and that it was a twisted value system that held her up to be a role model for accepting her fate.

A Weibo user said: “I could not understand why the social tragedy and embarrassment became a model.” Another Weibo user commented: “How could you have the nerve to ask a victim to shoulder the responsibility while letting the traffickers go unpunished?”

Zeng Yaxian, writer and columnist with news portal sina.com, called for an end of hardships for Gao and a return of her dignity. […] [Source]

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-manage-public-opinion-on-abductee-turned-model-teacher/feed/0Minitrue: Keep Real Estate Tax Bill Under Wraps [Correction]http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-keep-real-estate-tax-bill-under-wraps/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-keep-real-estate-tax-bill-under-wraps/#commentsThu, 23 Jul 2015 23:04:49 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=185461The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

The July 14 Economic Information Daily article apparently reveals insider information about real estate legislation that would combine several different types of tax and allow local jurisdictions to determine tax rates. The full article is available via CDT Chinese.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-keep-real-estate-tax-bill-under-wraps/feed/0Minitrue: Don’t Hype Story on Leiyang’s Angry Poethttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-dont-hype-story-on-leiyangs-angry-poet/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-dont-hype-story-on-leiyangs-angry-poet/#commentsThu, 16 Jul 2015 21:14:15 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184954The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Regarding the smashing of computers by chairperson of the Leiyang, Hunan branch of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles after his poetry was criticized online, all websites refrain from recommending or prominently displaying related news. (July 15, 2015) [Chinese]

According to the [Beijing Morning Post] report, on the morning of July 4, Xiong arrived at the office of lysq.com, demanding to see the head of the community website within five minutes or he would smash computers in the office.

When the countdown ended and the leader failed to appear, Xiong smashed one of the computers to the ground.

[…] He “was not familiar with the Internet and thought it was the website that had defamed his poems,” explained the executive, “and so he came to challenge us.”

During a quarrel with staff members at the company, Xiong said “It is I who smashed the computer, and so what? I can leave you a note!” And so he wrote, “Xiong Aichun smashed a computer of the community. Xiong Aichung, July 3, 2015.”

Xiong asked for 100,000 yuan in spiritual compensation from the company, and with a deduction of 2000 yuan for fixing the computer he demanded the company pay him 98,000 yuan in total. The two sides did not reach an agreement on the matter. [Source]

According to initial reports, witnesses commented on Xiong’s eccentric behavior, and his colleagues told reporters that he had a history of mental illness.

CDT’s Sam Wade translates two of the poems posted by Xiong:

In Praise of the International Healthcare Consumer Guide

There’s a guide for international consumers,
A crystal-clear little pamphlet.
Healthcare consumption is clearly outlined
And I write this poem in its praise.
All the experts served them well,
So all the customers rejoice.
After happily washing our feet today,
Tomorrow we stride up the mountain.

In Praise of Leiyang (4)

Leiyang: the foremost Daoist paradise on earth!
And the Sea of Bamboo is its heart.
Amid such blessings, should one cherish joy?
Only with appreciation can joy multiply!
Shall we bandy words about the affairs of the literary world?
Picking such nits is very bad!
Might I persuade you to douse the fire of anger in your liver?
No! It is only normal to channel this vital energy! [Chinese]

The incident has exposed the huge gap between Xiong’s literary image and the person he really is, because he could not even write the word “smash” properly in the note he left. But what has irritated the public most is his refusal to accept criticism, which authors, poets and artists should be prepared for once they enter the world of arts. Xiong’s reaction is a natural outcome of the flattery and praise he has become used to in his daily life, and reveals the long-standing administrative malpractice such as the lack of internal supervision and an atmosphere full of deceit.

Gmw.cn, July 15

Whether Xiong is suffering from some mental illness as the official response claimed is not the real issue. Instead, what is important is how an official is selected and supervised and whether or not Xiong is qualified to be the chairman of the local literature and arts society. The selection and appointment system of officials should be urgently reformed so that they are chosen on the basis of their moral integrity and professional competence. And a top-down supervision mechanism should be established.

Chinese netizens have raised questions on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo. “First, how can he rise to a literature federation chairman position with such a low literacy?” asked one (link in Chinese). “Second, why isn’t he subjected to the law after stirring up such big trouble?”

Among Communist Party officials, writing and sharing poetry is not uncommon. Ma Kai, now China’s vice premier, created a poem series(link in Chinese) on fighting floods, storms, and earthquakes.

[…] In 2007, China’s then-premier Wen Jiaobao published a poem in the People’s Daily newspaper entitled Look Up at the Starlit Sky, encouraging college students to be “people who care about the destiny of the world and the country.”

Huang also notes that the Leiyang Community forum front page (lysq.com) currently displays a notice saying it is under maintanence due to “soaring traffic and a large number of malicious DDOS attacks.”

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-dont-hype-story-on-leiyangs-angry-poet/feed/0Minitrue: Detention of “Trouble-Making” Lawyershttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-detention-of-trouble-making-lawyers/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-detention-of-trouble-making-lawyers/#commentsTue, 14 Jul 2015 23:32:44 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184815The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

All websites must, without exception, use as the standard official and authoritative media reports with regards to the detention of trouble-making lawyers by the relevant departments. Personnel must take care to find and delete harmful information; do not repost news from non-standard sources. (July 14, 2015) [Chinese]

Over 100 human rights lawyers and activists have been detained or questioned since last week in what state media call an operation against “conspirators” who are “colluding with petitioners to disturb social order and to reach their goals with ulterior motives.” The crackdown has especially targeted the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm, which was searched by the authorities last week, on the grounds that it headed a “major criminal gang” masterminding disruptions to public order and committing “serious” but unspecified crimes. Amnesty reports that 148 lawyers and activists had been swept up by Tuesday, with at least 25 still in custody, under residential surveillance, or missing.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-detention-of-trouble-making-lawyers/feed/0Minitrue: Rules on Stock Market Reportinghttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-rules-on-stock-market-reporting/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-rules-on-stock-market-reporting/#commentsFri, 10 Jul 2015 06:43:50 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184738The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online.

SAPPRFT: Radio and television stations must substantially cut down on coverage of the stock market and strictly observe the following rules：

Necessary coverage of the stock market must be completely balanced, objective, and rational. Do not join the chorus of the bull or bear market. Rationally lead market expectations to prevent inappropriate reports from causing the market to spike or crash.

Without exception, discontinue discussions, expert interviews, and on-site live coverage. Do not conduct in-depth analysis, and do not speculate on or assess the direction of the market. Do not exaggerate panic or sadness. Do not use emotionally charged words such as “slump,” “spike,” or “collapse.”

Programs on securities must be produced and broadcast by the broadcast organization. Do not rent or transfer time slots, do not broadcast programs produced by consulting organizations, and do not embark on commercial ventures with consulting organizations. (June 23, 2015) [Chinese]

Just as the Communist Party distrusts market forces, so it misunderstands them. Botched attempts to save stocks suggest it is losing control, while a successful rescue would have made buying shares a one-way bet—inflating the bubble still further. One of the persistent illusions about China’s governance is that, whatever its other shortcomings, eminently capable technocrats are in control. Their haplessness in the face of the market turmoil points to a more disconcerting reality. [Source]

The Ministry of Public Security said it will help the China Securities Regulatory Commission investigate evidence of “malicious” short selling of stocks and indexes, according to a statement on its website Thursday. Vice Public Security Minister Meng Qingfeng visited the regulator’s offices in Beijing on Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency said earlier on its microblog.

The move comes after the securities regulator pledged to “strictly” punish market manipulation and China’s state-run media blamed short selling, rumor-mongering and foreign meddling for fueling the stock slide. […]

“If you sell huge amounts of stock on the spot market and sell lots of futures contracts, then you’ll probably be a ‘malicious short seller,’” said Jiang Lin, an analyst at Xinhu Futures Co. in Shanghai. “They will probably investigate a few accounts with big amounts of money and catch some as typical examples.” [Source]

Same friends in China (half) joke that now Public Security Ministry has gotten involved, people are afraid if they sell they'll be arrested.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-rules-on-stock-market-reporting/feed/0Minitrue: July 1 Hong Kong Protestshttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-july-1-hong-kong-protests/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-july-1-hong-kong-protests/#commentsMon, 06 Jul 2015 17:20:58 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184625The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

There are reports that the Hong Kong opposition is holding a demonstration this afternoon. Carefully find and delete text, images, and video which touches on this protest, and strictly guard against the online spread of harmful information in support of the demonstration. (July 1, 2015) [Chinese]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/07/minitrue-july-1-hong-kong-protests/feed/0Minitrue: Pull Blinds Down on “Island’s Sunrise”http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-pull-blinds-down-on-islands-sunrise/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-pull-blinds-down-on-islands-sunrise/#commentsMon, 29 Jun 2015 19:38:53 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184522The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Find and delete all news related to “Island’s Sunrise” winning Song of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards. (June 27, 2015) [Chinese]

Chinese television broadcast Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards live on Saturday, but blocked the Song of the Year award through a time delay. That award went to the band Fire EX for “Island’s Sunrise,” a song they produced for the sit-in at Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan last March. The three-week Sunflower Movement succeeded in halting a trade deal with China and invigorated youth political participation. The band thanked the protesters in their acceptance speech:

“I think this award isn’t just about Fire EX, but more importantly indirectly affirms last year’s movement and what everyone did to change Taiwan. I truly hope everyone will hold onto this enthusiasm and love to work together to make Taiwan a better country.” [transcribed from video]

The music video for “Island’s Sunrise” is a montage of scenes from the sit-in and clashes with police:

At the blog Thinking Taiwan, Michael J. Cole notes that when singer Huang Wei-chieh brought a banner on stage protesting forced evictions in Taiwan’s Miaoli County, Singaporean viewers were treated to a break in the program. But the cover-up of Fire EX’s win went beyond Chinese TV screens:

It was even worse if you were watching in China, where coverage was immediately blocked when the winner in the “song of the year” category was announced. For obvious reasons, Fire EX’s (滅火器) “Island’s Sunrise” (島嶼天光) — a song that became the anthem for last year’s Sunflower Movement, which successfully prevented the government from implementing a highly controversial services trade agreement with China — was unpalatable to the Chinese authorities. Unless the Chinese were able to bypass the Great Firewall of China, they could only conclude that this year, there was no “song of the year” in Taiwan.

Less nefarious, but still troubling, is the fact that while viewers on Taiwan Television (TTV, 台視), the official broadcaster of the event, saw the whole thing live, uninterrupted and uncensored, most news broadcasts on other Taiwanese channels later on did not report on Fire EX’s win. All of them instead focused on the awards bagged by Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), A-mei (張惠妹) and Hong Kong’s Eason Chan (陳奕迅). Focus Taiwan, state-run Central News Agency’s English-language service, ran a total of 10 articles on the event. None, however, headlines the winner in the “song of the year” category or Fire EX, which is only mentioned in the complete list of the night’s winners in an article titled “Jolin Tsai’s ‘Play’ biggest winner at Golden Melody Awards.” (To their credit, Focus Taiwan did run an article about Hong Kong singer Karen Mok [莫文蔚] expressing her support for last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that made gay marriage legal across the U.S.) [Source]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-pull-blinds-down-on-islands-sunrise/feed/0Minitrue: Three-Year-Old Can’t Put Xi Downhttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-toddler-cant-put-xi-down/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-toddler-cant-put-xi-down/#commentsFri, 26 Jun 2015 19:36:19 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184481The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Yesterday’s Inner Mongolia Morning Post carried the story on the precocious child:

Wang Chubo of Hohhot is only three and a half, but his special abilities to read President Xi Jinping’s “Governance of China” and to add, subtract, and multiply have earned him the bronze medal in the Inner Mongolia regional division of the 2015 Good Chinese Child competition. He has also decided to give all his prize money to children in poor regions. Inspired by Wang, the three winners also gave away their prizes of 7,000 yuan and a two-person trip to Hong Kong and Macau to children in need.

During the competition, the host opened “Governance of China” to a random page. Wang seemed a bit shy, but he started to read slowly, his voice growing louder with his confidence. [Chinese]

The directive is aimed at curbing snide remarks about Wang Chubo’s literary talents, comments like these from Weibo:

Sanfanhuang (@三反黄): I can’t tell whether this is a good omen, or if it means the “Governance of China” is written for three-year-olds.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-toddler-cant-put-xi-down/feed/0Minitrue: Delete Article on Disciplinary Official’s Deathhttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-delete-article-on-beaten-to-death-disciplinary-official/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-delete-article-on-beaten-to-death-disciplinary-official/#commentsWed, 10 Jun 2015 22:16:03 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184187The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Find and delete the article “Qing’an Heilongjiang Disciplinary Inspection Official Beaten to Death After Reporting on County Officials.” Do not hype this story. [Chinese]

On June 8, Caijing reported on the lack of progress in an investigation into the death of Fan Jiandong, an official with Qing’an county’s anti-corruption agency. According to Caijing, Fan was beaten by a gang of masked men on April 2, months after a trip to Beijing to report on county officials. Fan died while being hospitalized on May 1. The article has disappeared from Caijing’s website and all other Chinese news portals, but can be read in full via Vancouver-based Chinese-language news website city365.ca.

The document, jointly signed by Fan and two others, accused the county’s Party chief Sun Jingshan and county head Li Yingnan for their alleged involvement in the illegal construction of a deluxe office building after the State Council requested all government bodies not to build any new office building for five years.

At least 30 million yuan ($4.8 million) was invested, yet the new building was not being used, the document read.

No suspect has been arrested, Caijing reported.

A staff member at Fan’s office confirmed his cause of death, but refused to confirm if he had been to Beijing. [Source]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-delete-article-on-beaten-to-death-disciplinary-official/feed/0Minitrue: Oriental Star, Aung San Suu Kyihttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-aung-san-suu-kyi-dome-oriental-star/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-aung-san-suu-kyi-dome-oriental-star/#commentsTue, 09 Jun 2015 23:04:45 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=184161The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

The report in the Beijing News, a leading commercial newspaper in the Chinese capital, said the Eastern Star had received retrofits that made the vessel less safe. “Changes to the ship’s structure and additions to its length made it less stable, and increased the risk of capsize,” the report said, citing company officials and ship inspectors that it didn’t name. It also alleged that the ship’s owner maintained “special” ties with local shipping inspectors, particularly during the periods when the vessel was constructed and retrofitted.

The article’s allegations couldn’t be independently verified. […]

Web-based versions of the Beijing News report, which also appeared in print, became inaccessible by late Monday morning. The article was still accessible via the newspaper’s official account on the WeChat mobile-messaging service as of Tuesday morning, as were copies of the report reproduced by other Chinese news media. The English-language edition of the Global Times tabloid, which is affiliated with the official Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, also cited the Beijing News’ allegations in a Tuesday report.

[…] Chinese authorities have commandeered the flow of public information related to the disaster, such as by directing domestic media to rely on reports from state broadcaster CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency, which have sought to portray government leaders favorably and curb speculation. Apart from the Beijing News article, observers say other publications have also removed reports that discussed possible causes of the sinking. [Source]

[…] A spokesman for the Transportation Ministry, Xu Chengguan, has vowed that “we will never shield mistakes and we’ll absolutely not cover up” anything.

But Zhang Xiaohui, a reporter for the Chinese publication Economic Observer, said that he was detained by authorities after going to the ship company’s offices in Chongqing on Tuesday and reporting that he discovered employees shredding documents. Zhang said in a social-media post that he was held under the potential charge of spreading rumors online. [Source]

Makinen’s report also touched on the tension and occasional conflict between officials and relatives of the victims. Since the disaster, family members have faced stonewalling, surveillance, accusations of ulterior motives, and even violence.

For days, [Stella Wu] had sought help and answers about the tragedy at home in Shanghai. She stood outside the local government office until 1 a.m., but staffers would only say that they had no information from the scene and that the leaders were in a meeting. Next, she and other relatives of missing passengers decided to march on a busy street to try to get authorities to pay attention. Police, she said, came and dispersed them, dragging and hitting people.

Finally, she bought a train ticket to Jianli, only to find that people from her neighborhood committee had purchased seats on the same train – ostensibly to help her, but clearly also to keep tabs on her. […] [Source]

Taiwan’s ETTV captured an altercation between relatives and police in Shanghai:

Several times in the past few days, Ms. Chen has asked to see the remains of her husband, Zhang Guangren, only to be put off by officials. “I want to see his body,” said the 73-year-old retired native of Nanjing city, who now lives in the U.S. “I don’t care about money or anything else.”

[…] Officials cited public-health concerns and the logistics of dealing with so many bodies as reasons for not letting the relatives see the dead. The remains are being stored in funeral facilities in four separate counties, having overwhelmed the capacity of the sole funeral parlor in Jianli.

[…] The slowness of the process has been confounding. A daughter of Ms. Chen said she and her mother have asked to review any photos of the bodies to see if her father is among them, to no avail.

[…] Nanjing officials sent to Jianli to assist next-of-kin from that city at times seemed to fuel frustration. On Thursday, Ms. Chen and several others confronted an official in a shouting match at a local government building, after he demanded that relatives prove their identities and insinuated that they were in Jianli to seek compensation. [Source]

When they arrived in Jianli they tried to walk to the site of rescue operations, but were stopped by police who had accompanied them from Nanjing. Authorities later said they could visit the area in organised groups but reporters and cameramen could not accompany them.

“I can’t rule out that even among Chinese journalists there are people who want to smear the government,” Hu Shining, Nanjing’s deputy police chief, told the relatives who had walked with reporters in tow to try to get to the river’s edge.

[…] A few of the relatives in Shanghai who were part of a news sharing chat group told Reuters they suspected police were pretending to be family members and were posting messages and photos, mainly about government rescue efforts.

“Why would a grief-stricken family member be posting such positive messages about what a great job government officials are doing in Jianli?” said one man whose mother is missing. [Source]

Frustration over the lack of information has grown among families of the missing. Seventy-year-old Xia Yunchen burst into a just finished news briefing with senior officials on Friday, screaming and demanding answers.

“Is it necessary to treat the common people, one by one, as if you are facing some kind of formidable foe?” said Xia, whose sister and brother-in-law were aboard the Eastern Star.

Xia, from the eastern city of Qingdao, told reporters she had wanted to get into the news conference to hear for herself what the government was saying, and that she wanted an honest investigation because family members doubted the weather was the real cause of the disaster.

“You view the common people as if we are all your enemy. We are tax payers. We support the government. You had better change your notion of this relationship. You are here to serve us. You need to be humane,” Xia said, before being escorted out. [Source]

Some foreign media began to find fault with the handling of the rescue effort and aftermath, cherry-picking disappointments and complaints, and weaving contradictions and conflicts around the event. Some eagerly preyed on the suffering of family members, pouring salt on their wounds, and fostering antagonism between those at the centre and around the edges of the events. This is truly unkind.

Because the casualties are so large, and out of respect for the relatives, Chinese society rushed to the rescue, while appreciating the importance of consoling the relatives. When domestic media have preyed on the suffering of relatives after past disasters, they have almost invariably faced condemnation by the public. Very quickly, everyone came to hold this bottom line in reverence.

Foreign media have no need for solidarity with Chinese society. They don’t have to think about helping to solve problems, and like to lay bare collisions and scars within Chinese society. Their way of thinking is often antagonistic. Therefore they have no interest in the whole chain of cause and effect; they just latch onto the most sensational and provocative parts.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be angry with foreign media: these are their rules, driven by their interests. But we must differentiate ourselves clearly, firmly refrain from imitating them, and guard our own principles. [Chinese]

While the measures the country has taken are unsatisfactory for some, most of the public has shown understanding. We are not omnipotent in the struggle with death. It’s a cruel display of the fragility and limitation of modernization.

A minority poured out dissenting voices and leveled complaints. But it’s noticeable that they don’t represent the mainstream sentiments of society over the shipwreck.

The foreign media are prone to report those dissenting opinions. However, in view of the swift and effective operation, they have shown restraint in not capitalizing on China’s pains this time. This has rarely been the case over the years. [Source]

Coming in for particularly angry criticism was the online version of the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily for a story that introduced a group of navy frogmen under the headline, “Rescue Line: China’s Hottest Men Are All Here.”

“A national tragedy, relatives of the dead mired in pain, and yet People’s Daily uses it for entertainment,” lawyer Zhang Zhiyong wrote on his verified feed on the social-media platform run by Weibo. A search showed what appeared to be hundreds of posts about “hottest men” and the search for the ship. Phones rang unanswered at the newspaper’s office on Saturday.

[…] Web users also directed ire at newspapers in Hubei province, where at least three publications on Saturday published the same emotion-charged photo of workers in white antibacterial suits facing the raised Eastern Star and barges used to salvage it, a scene blanketed in orange as the sun set. The images — generally accompanied with praising text — seemed to some Weibo users as too laudatory of the rescuers amid the death. “How Much I Hope,” said one of the headlines. (The Wall Street Journal also published the photo.) [Source]

Officials have not given foreign journalists access to any of the 14 people who managed to escape when the ship overturned Monday night, but the state-run Xinhua news agency released interviews with several of the survivors, including the captain and chief engineer.

In an account published by Xinhua on Friday, Wu Jianqiang, a 58-year-old passenger described as an illiterate farmer from Tianjin, said that he and his wife were in their cabin when rainwater began pouring through the windows.

[…] “I could feel my feet slipping from beneath me, but the bed I was on stayed in place,” he said, according to the English version of the article. “So I stretched out my hands to my wife, but our fingers never met.”

[…] Mr. Wu’s account contained a number of discrepancies with the state news media’s reporting on the disaster. He said passengers that day had lingered at the final stop, a tourist attraction along the banks of the river, until 6 p.m. — other accounts said they had returned to the ship seven hours earlier — and the Chinese version of his account described him clasping hands with his wife as the ship began to keel. [Source]

To put it in historical perspective, the Chinese Communist Party has always controlled information about disasters very tightly. The handling of the aftermath of disasters is obviously the government’s responsibility, but there’s also a long-held belief in the country that even the occurrence of natural disasters can in some way be seen as the government’s fault. After the Tangshan earthquake in the 1976, the government basically tried to prevent any spread of information.

The government has been a lot more transparent in recent years, partly because the Internet has made complete coverups impossible. […]

[… The government’s information strategy over the Eastern Star] is successful in limiting any kind of damage to the government’s reputation in the short term, but one of the country’s problems is that there’s a tremendous lack of trust in Chinese society. Most people are suspicious of the story that they’re getting from the government. They usually won’t say that publicly, but one of the reasons why you get people clashing with the police is because they don’t believe what they’re getting told. This happens pretty much every time there’s a disaster of some kind. We saw it this week, we saw it when the Malaysian Airlines plane disappeared and after the New Year’s Eve stampede in Shanghai at the beginning of this year. So it is a successful strategy to minimize any kind of organized threat to the rule of the Communist Party, both in the immediate and long run, but it doesn’t do the Chinese government any good in building a society where there is more trust, both between citizens and also from citizens to the government. People are unable to organize dissent, but they aren’t really going to believe in President Xi Jinping’s much propagandized “Chinese Dream” either. [Source]

Other disasters have made unlikely dissidents out of ordinary Chinese. When parents and others protested the shoddy construction of schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, some were jailed for their troubles. When families of New Year’s Eve revelers, who were trampled to death in Shanghai this past holiday, tried to commemorate their loved ones, police and censors converged. Back then, Chinese media were instructed to stick to state-sanctioned versions of events, a pattern that is being repeated with the Eastern Star sinking.

That has prompted some ferry relatives to speak anonymously to the press or to merely identify themselves by their last name. Yet again, personal tragedy was left submerged under the weight of preserving social stability. [Source]

The 1.5 million people of Jianli, which sits on a bend of the mighty Yangtze River in the central province of Hubei, have offered free food, car rides and even hair-dressing services to the relatives, rescuers, officials and reporters who have rushed there after the ship carrying more than 450 people sank in a storm on Monday.

Residents have tied bright yellow scarves to their arms, car mirrors, buildings and gates to show solidarity with those impacted by the disaster.

“This is a way for us to show how much we care for those people, especially the families,” said a taxi driver surnamed Luo, who had festooned his own car with billowing scarves. [Source]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-aung-san-suu-kyi-dome-oriental-star/feed/0Minitrue: Cruise Capsizes in Yangtzehttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-cruise-capsizes-in-yangtze/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-cruise-capsizes-in-yangtze/#commentsTue, 02 Jun 2015 19:11:39 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=183944The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Regarding the capsizing of the Oriental Star cruise ship, media from all locales must not dispatch reporters to the scene. Reporters already there must be immediately recalled. All coverage must use information released by authoritative media as the standard. (June 1, 2015) [Chinese]

The Oriental Star turned over on Monday evening in heavy wind and rain. There are so far only 14 known survivors among the approximately 450 passengers and crew. Many of the passengers are retirement age. The oldest is past 80, the youngest only three years old. The ship capsized near Jianli County, Hubei, on a journey from Nanjing to Chongqing. The Guardian’s Tom Phillips reported from Jianli:

Desperate family members only saw a piece of paper taped to the locked door of the Xiehe Travel Agency in Shanghai. “Because of the accident on the Yangtze River, personnel have driven to the disaster site to assist in the coordination,” it read.

Editor’s note: the above section has been altered at Chiu’s request to clarify that “relatively free and wide-ranging” referred to coverage of relatives’ complaints, not to reporting from the scene of the disaster. Reuters reports that family members in Shanghai were later taken to a local government office, but information was not forthcoming and some came to blows with officials.

The Oriental Star was carrying fewer than its maximum number of passengers and was in good shape. The weather seems to have played a role in the capsizing of the ship. The China Meteorological Administration reported a tornado in the area around the time of the accident. The captain and chief engineer have been taken into custody.

The sinking of the Oriental Star recalls a high-speed train crash in Wenzhou that claimed some 40 victims in July 2011. Reporters then were also forbidden from reporting at the scene, but skirted the ban through Weibo. Their posts and millions more from across the country forced a reckoning with the now-defunct Ministry of Railways and blazed a path for Weibo as a tool of citizen journalism. But restrictions on Weibo “rumor-mongering” and the silencing of “Big Vs” over the past two years have dampened its power. The top post on Weibo’s “Discover” 24 hour trending topics page is from the magazine Vista (Kàn Tiānxià 看天下) about a rescue diver, followed a few posts down by updates from Xinhua and CCTV.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/06/minitrue-cruise-capsizes-in-yangtze/feed/0Minitrue: Revenge for Forced Demolition in Xi’anhttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-revenge-for-forced-demolition-in-xian/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-revenge-for-forced-demolition-in-xian/#commentsTue, 26 May 2015 21:39:13 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=183798The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Do not hype the report “Man in Xi’an Whose Home Was Demolished Murders the Man Responsible.” When handling this type of case, take care to downplay collective opposition, and do not publish gory images. (May 26, 2015) [Chinese]

According to shopkeepers in the vicinity, the incident occurred around 9 a.m. next to the sign for the Shengchan Road bus stop on Ziqiang East Road in Xi’an. One eyewitness stated that, according to locals, the murderer was forced to relocate from his home and is over 40 years old. The murderer professed that he had revenge to carry out. As soon as the victim stepped off the bus, he was blocked by the murderer, who stabbed the victim several times before taking a hatchet to his head.

Eyewitnesses said a nearby shop[keeper] and a passerby exhorted the murderer not to do that wrong thing, but the murderer said he had been blocked by this man for six years, and had been looking for him all this time. When the murder was complete, the man did not leave the scene, but wiped the blood off his hands with newspaper, then told onlookers that he lived near Shengchan Road, and that he had been searching for the man he had stabbed for years because of problems with the demolition and relocation of his home.

[…] After the incident, the murderer went on to tell onlookers that he did not have a cell phone, and asked them to call the police. He did not run. The police arrived quickly and put him in handcuffs, but he then told them he would go with them willingly, and handcuffs were not necessary. A red purse filled to the brim lay next to the victim. An eyewitness said the bag belonged to the murderer and held a hatchet and dagger. [Chinese]

On Weibo, netizens have responded largely with sympathy to the perpetrator, painting him as a victim of society who either rightfully took his revenge, or else was driven to madness:

Litongmingltm (@李通明ltm): However great the oppression, so to the revolt.

Hanxuewomeihua (@寒雪卧梅花): Injustice has its head, debt has its owner. If you are unharmed, you are innocent!

Fenfatuqiangdeheibao (@奋发图强的黑豹): Actually, it sounds like the man from the demolition company had some amount of power, but he was also just doing the legwork. The ones who truly make suffer those forced to relocate are standing in the shadows, unseen by ordinary people. [Chinese]

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-revenge-for-forced-demolition-in-xian/feed/0Minitrue: Delete Global Times Commentary on June 4th Letter [Updated]http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-delete-global-times-commentary-on-overseas-forces-inciting-students/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-delete-global-times-commentary-on-overseas-forces-inciting-students/#commentsTue, 26 May 2015 19:09:16 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=183787The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

The lead signatory to the letter, Gu Yi, said the group felt they had a moral duty to share the information they had stumbled upon after leaving their home country, about the extent of the Tiananmen protests in Beijing and the bloody government crackdown on 4 June 1989.

Gu, a chemistry student at the University of Georgia, said: “I feel strongly as a Chinese citizen with full access to information outside China that I have a responsibility to tell my fellow citizens about this. We have been living in fear for a lot of years and what we are trying to do is fight this fear so we can live in freedom.”

The lengthy discussion of what happened in May and June 1989 was mostly addressed to fellow students at home in China, trapped behind what the letter called the “ever higher internet firewall”, but pointedly criticised the government.

The letter said: “Some say the Communist party of China has taken lessens from 4 June and we should not pursue it anymore, and yet the repression lingers on: the truth is still being covered up; the victims are still being humiliated.” [Source]

The open letter claimed that the post-1980s and post-1990s generations in the mainland have been fooled and they couldn’t get to know the “truth” of the 1989 Tiananmen incident until they moved abroad to study, where they can get unlimited access to the Internet. However, it’s well-known that Internet censorship cannot prevent people acquiring sensitive information from overseas websites. The signatories mistake their own closed mindsets as the syndrome of the whole society. If the letter is truly written by a few students overseas, we have to say that those young people have been brainwashed in foreign countries, copying the paranoid minority overseas. [Source]

The Guardian article notes that the Global Times editorial, which was published widely across state media before being censored, helped draw attention to the petition. As lead signatory Gu Yi told the paper, “The Global Times attacking our letter was the best advertisement.”

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-delete-global-times-commentary-on-overseas-forces-inciting-students/feed/0Minitrue: Violent Protest to “Save the Railroad”http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-violent-protest-to-save-the-railroad/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-violent-protest-to-save-the-railroad/#commentsTue, 19 May 2015 17:47:26 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=183672The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Regarding the assembly of groups to “save the [rail]road” and the disturbance of order in in Linshui County, Sichuan, coverage must accord with Xinhua News Agency wire copy and information released by the local authorities. Control comments on news web pages. Delete text, images, and video posted by netizens concerning clashes with the police. (May 18, 2015) [Chinese]

Protests in Linshui on May 16 turned violent as residents protested to keep a planned high-speed rail line, which they may lose to nearby Guang’an, birthplace of Deng Xiaoping. Photos have emerged of SWAT teams beating people in the street and protesters bleeding from the head.

The Internet was cut off in the entire county, according to the Financial Times’ James Anderlini. While Baidu and Weibo searches for “Linshui” (邻水) pull up official media reports and long shots of protesters, photos of riot police and protesters clutching head wounds dominate Twitter results. A group that calls itself the “Anti-Communist Party Hackers” apparently hacked a local public security bureau website, posting the message, “Fucking CCP! Get your bastard police the hell out of Linshui County!”:

The line is designed to link Dazhou in Sichuan province with neighboring Chongqing. According to a notice on the website of the Sichuan Development and Reform Commission on Monday, the line is “still being planned and has not been approved by the provincial and central governments”.

Only after it is approved by the State can the railway route be discussed, said the notice, and then Sichuan will seek suggestions from the public on places the railway should pass through. [Source]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.

]]>http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-violent-protest-to-save-the-railroad/feed/0Minitrue: Do Not Hype the Qing’an Shooting Incidenthttp://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-do-not-hype-the-qingan-shooting-incident/
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/minitrue-do-not-hype-the-qingan-shooting-incident/#commentsWed, 13 May 2015 18:45:11 +0000http://chinadigitaltimes.net/?p=183542The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.

Media must not follow-up on or hype the Qing’an shooting incident. All related reports follow authoritative news media as the standard. Take note and delete negative, harmful Internet commentary. (May 13, 2015) [Chinese]

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.